KIRKUS REVIEW

A high school English teacher is flummoxed by a colleague’s
murder.

The first day of school is always a challenge, even at schools
in affluent suburbs. But Liz Hopewell, a 10-year veteran of Valerian Hills H.S.,
hardly expects to begin the fall term by discovering the body Dr. Marcia
Deaver, an even more senior faculty member, shoved under a desk. Marcia, a
talented teacher and gifted Shakespeare scholar with a bent toward conspiracy
theories, had her share of enemies. She’d recently left her husband for a
younger man. The other members of the English faculty feared her sharp tongue.
Even Liz, who admired her scholarship, found her deeply unpleasant. Parents
complained about her harsh grading. There was even a rumor that she was about
to be reassigned to the middle school. But along with Marcia’s body, Liz finds
a folder of lesson plans so riddled with inaccuracies that punctilious Marcia
couldn’t possibly have created them as actual instructional guides. Convinced
that the folder holds the key to Marcia’s death, Liz forages through locked
offices and interviews potential suspects. But unlike many DIY sleuths, Liz is
keenly aware how dangerous her inquiries are. She’s also aware that both her
detached husband, George, and the strangely attentive Detective Harriman see
her activities as foolhardy. She’s afraid of her own investigation, but she’s
also afraid not to move ahead, because as long as the murderer is unidentified,
he or she remains a threat.

Exposing and pushing back against the girl-sleuth conventions
makes this series debut both familiar and quirky. Robbins reveals just enough
about her heroine’s life to make her appealing while leaving enough unresolved
to whet the appetite for a follow-up.

Be the first to discover new talent!
Each week, our editors select the one author and one book they believe to be most worthy of your attention and highlight them in our Pro Connect email alert.
Sign up here to receive your FREE alerts.